Lighthouse Trail Co.
A lighthouse on the Maine coast seen from a small boat

Maine lighthouse days

Sixty-five lighthouses.
Your knees do not need all of them.

Maine's lighthouse trail is a driving gauntlet designed by someone who hated vacationers. We do the opposite: the lights by boat with a USCG captain, the shoreside ones with the parking solved, and the lobster roll at the table-worthy places. The coast's best views, nobody's strained calves.

  • ◆The lights by boat - the view the road cannot offer
  • ◆Shoreside lights with parking and benches solved
  • ◆USCG-licensed captains, Maine registered guides
  • ◆Lobster rolls at the places with actual tables
Chart your light day Days & rates

The trail-trap problem

The lights are not the hard part - the getting there is

The official trail spans sixty-five lights and two hundred driving hours of coastal Route 1 in July. The classic lighthouse vacation is a minivan Odyssey in every sense: the parking, the crowds at the famous four, and the view of the light's base while the best view - from the water - belongs to the boats.

We built the alternative: a captain's boat for the lights that reward the sea view, a guide's van for the shoreside beauties, and zero Route 1 heroics. You see the iconic five properly, eat at the roll places with tables, and finish the week wanting more coast instead of more vacation from your vacation.

From the water

La pratique, en vrai

Curtis Island from the water
The view the road cannot offer.

The crew

Captains and registered guides

Captain Iris Hollings

USCG-licensed master, twenty-five years on this coast, and the third generation of Camden boat people. Knows which light looks best at which hour and which fog burns off by ten.

Captain Dale Preble

USCG license, retired lobsterman, and the coast's best storyteller since his brother retired from telling. Runs the downeast boat days; his sternman stories are worth the fare alone.

Marguerite Chase

Maine registered guide, lighthouse historian, and the author of the definitive porch book on the coast's lights. The shoreside days are hers; the facts are airtight and the porch stops are scheduled.

Owen Beal

The van, the parking solves, the table reservations, and the weather calls made at 6am with coffee. Retired from the ferry line; the coast's rhythms are his native language.

Days & rates

Four days on the light trail

DayIncludesTime
Everyone startsPlanning CallYour lights, your seas, your lobster politics - Iris and Owen chart the week around the coast you actually want. The chart built around you 30 minutes Free30 minutes
Most bookedThe Bay DayCamden's bay by boat: Curtis Island up close, the seals, the captain's coast, and the shoreside light with Owen's parking solve. Roll lunch at a table. Bay boat, Curtis Island, seals, shoreside light, roll lunch 6 hours $3956 hours
The classic pairThe Two-Light DayBoat for one light, guided shore for another - the classic midcoast pairing, with the famous one before its crowd and the quiet one after it. Boat light + guided shore light, crowd-solved 7 hours $5207 hours
The great loopThe Five-Lights WeekFive days, five lights, boat and shore: the midcoast classics, a downeast day with Captain Dale, and one day that Owen keeps flexible for the weather the coast will eventually have. Five lights, five days, boat and shore, downeast included 5 days $1,7505 days

All prices USD per party (up to 6). Boat days are weather-called at 6am by Owen, honestly, with the shoreside swap ready. Not a seller of travel; your inn is yours to book, with our opinion offered freely and correctly.

How it goes

From planning call to the day itself

01

The planning call

Your must-see lights, your sea tolerance, and your week. Iris charts the days; Owen begins his parking campaign immediately.

02

The 6am weather call

Owen, with coffee: boat, shore, or swap. The coast gets a vote; you get the honest call and the backup already reserved.

03

The day

Captain on the water, Marguerite on the shore, benches and tables pre-solved. The stories run lighthouse-to-lobster with no dead air.

04

The evening log

The day's photos, the lights logged, and tomorrow's roll reservation confirmed. The week builds into a proper chart of your own.

Client stories

What our clients say

"My wife wanted the lighthouses; my knees wanted none of Route 1. The boat solved everything - Curtis Island from the water is the photograph, and Owen's parking solve at the shoreside light should be taught in schools. The roll place had TABLES."

Gerald & Anne S.
67 & 65

"Captain Dale's downeast day was the week's peak - the lights, the sternman stories, and the fog that burned off exactly at ten as promised. Twenty-five years on this coast shows in every minute."

Tom & Judy W.
fiftieth anniversary week

"Marguerite wrote the book on these lights, and it shows - porch stops, real history, and the quiet light after the famous one emptied out. Iris's boat made the coast feel like it did the favor on purpose."

Lynn C.
59, lighthouse compleatist

// Before you book //

Frequently asked questions

The bay days run protected waters honestly rated for comfort; the downeast day is the sportiest and Iris says so plainly. Seasickness wisdom, ginger ale, and the shoreside swap are all part of the operation.
The coast's signature, handled: fog days shift to the lights it flatters, and Captain Dale's fog narration is famously better than the clear view. The 6am call makes the decision with coffee and honesty.
Two on our routes have climbs, both optional, both with the bench alternative at the base and the view from the boat as the superior one anyway. The compleatist week includes one climb for the stamp; nobody has ever regretted the bench either.
Yours to book, with our honest opinion offered freely - Camden, Rockland, or the downeast option depending on the week we chart. Owen's inn opinions are strong and, in our experience, correct.
The roll is infrastructure: the table-worthy places, reserved, with the picnic backup for the perfect bench. The state's finest food group deserves logistics, and it gets them.
The boat boards at a proper float with help; the shoreside lights are bench-planned with short flat walks. Tell the planning call and the chart adjusts - the coast is better at this than its reputation suggests.

Contact

Tell us your lights

A sentence about your week, your sea legs, and whether the famous five or the quiet ones call you. The planning call charts it honestly.

TEL (207) 555-0159
Hours Mon-Sat 8am-6pm ET

メール [email protected]